Chocolate and Easter go hand-in-hand... just like new life and new hope

Easter and chocolate go hand in hand! For many of us, unwrapping a chocolate egg is a cherished part of our Easter celebrations- and there's nothing wrong with that. Here in York, the air is often filled with the rich scent of chocolate (or even peppermint!) from the Nestlé factory.

We have a long history of chocolate-making. We are home to famous names like Rowntree and Nestlé. And Cadbury, another Quaker-founded company, created the first modern chocolate Easter egg. These great businesses were built on Christian values of fairness. They built kind and fair communities, reminding us of the importance of treating people with dignity - in business just as much as in every other part of life.

As followers of Jesus, we are called to help build a whole world where fairness and kindness reign. Yet we inhabit a world where there is so much conflict and division. So much unkindness and injustice. And where many people don't have food on the table, let alone Easter eggs to share. This Easter I'm therefore particularly thinking about Jesus' challenge to Mary Magdalene on the first Easterday: '"Who are you looking for?"

It's an important question for everyone to face? Who will we follow? Upon which values shall we build our lives and our communities? I'm also finding inspiration in Bede, one of the great Northern Saints of the English church. He encouraged bishops in his day to teach people the Lord's Prayer in their mother tongue. That this would be a way of finding direction for their lives.

That idea has also taken root in me. What was relevant in the 7th century is also relevant for the 21st century. We need values to live by. We need to decide who to follow and which direction to take.

When we pray, "Thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven," we're asking for a world where peace and justice reign. We're committing ourselves to pray and live differently, following the way of Jesus, the one whose resurrection from the dead shows us that no situation is too dark or desperate to be beyond transformation.

In fewer than 70 words, the Lord's Prayer, a well-known (but not always thought about) prayer, teaches us how to live as well as how to pray. Ask for daily bread and don't seek more than your share. Forgive others. Follow God's way.

Easter shows us that things can be different. The Lord's Prayer can re-set your inner compass. Easter eggs remind us of new life and new hope. Let's be part of that difference. Let's bring hope to our world.

Happy Easter!